Supreme Court To Decide If 14th Amendment Says What It Says The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in Trump v. Barbara, challenging an executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship. The administration’s argument, which rehashes a fringe legal interpretation from the late 19th century, contends that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was intended only for former slaves and their descendants. This case could potentially strip citizenship from millions born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents, creating a large, stateless, and easily exploitable population.

• The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a case challenging an executive order to end birthright citizenship.
• The administration’s argument relies on a fringe interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, similar to arguments rejected in the 1898 Wong Kim Ark case.
• This interpretation was previously argued by figures associated with Confederate views and was rejected even by a Supreme Court historically predisposed to codifying racism.
• If the administration wins, individuals born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents could lose their citizenship, potentially becoming stateless.
• This could create a massive ‘foreign labor class’ or ‘hereditary underclass’ of millions of people without rights, stripped of their Social Security numbers and legal status.
• The arguments presented by the Trump administration are noted to recycle arguments made in the Wong Kim Ark case from the late 19th century.